Climate cabinet



Dec. 26, 1939. E. HOMBERGER CLIMATE CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 2, 1936 L ...2- .HKU-L.;

DeC. 26, 1939. E, HOMBERGER l 2,184,644

CLIMATE CABINET Filed April 2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 26, 1939 UNET of STATE-f- CLIMATE CABINETV Application April, 2', 1936;- seriarm. 72,38@ ImGreat. Britain Aprili; 1935'l 2 Claims.

This inventionrelatesto a cabinet `forthe production of various climaticA conditions in imitation astrue: as possible to nature, especially.

those conditions ofthe air.` and of' the radiation 5`l vhavingto be intentionallyy produced-"Whichlusually exist for instanceat certain altitudes and countries, as forI instance in high mountains or atthe Seacoast, or in particularly dry, very sunny countries, andwhich justfor this reason are used lwith satisfactory result for the treatment of certain diseases.

Every localcliniate consists ofaf number of different factors; such asfor.instancepressure,v

moisture, temperaturefandpurity of the air and 155 sometimes also of the actualfdegree of ionisation of the air and of thepresencef of radiations of dierent Wave lengths from -infra-red up to .ultraviolet. The ozone percentage of the air may also be of importance.

it has already been proposedlto' artificially produce the one` or the. otherlor.. some of the factors of the different climates Whichlhavemeen recognized as: favourable and; to. employV them for medical treatments, .such as for. instancel air. of. ;lower pressure, dried air with ozone addition..

further.. radiation..Withiactinicy Waves and si-multaneousY admission. of ozone.` TheY invention is based` on: the 1anovvledge that complete' healing,

can. be attained. onlyyif Y in ai sutablecabinet all f the requiredfactors are' simultaneouslyA applied.

Thecabinetaccording toV the .invention represente for the rsttimea practically: useful vdevice tolexpose a Apatient in thelmeanin'gof this new knowledge to the. effects-.ofy pressure,.mosture,. ftemperature,` purity, ionisation, percentage of ozone .and oxygen of the air-andof certain kinds of rays, simultaneously and independently the one of the other, these effects adapted to be regulated within certain limits. As it forms part 40 of the new knowledge according` to the invention Ythat the favourable effects of the climatic factors can be further increased bytreating the body of the patient at the same time directly with high frequency currents, `provisions are made that by the arrangement according to the invention also the practical admissionofsuch currents to the body of the patient is possible.

The special problem which issolved by the` invention consists in that the above mentioned measures can be carried'out securely in a restricted space in a simple manner and at the lowest-possible expenses. The cabinet according to the invention comprises therefore in combination al-l the known means rfor the desired adjustlsstmentof pressure, moisture-and temperature, for

(Cl. 12S-3.71),

the--rad-iation-With effective rays and for the high frequencytreatinentbyfmeans of aachair or'th'e like constructed asi electrode with direct metal Contact on large# surface, .onef pole: being connected to a high frequency generator, Whereaslthe 5?; secondi pole of the source" oil currentiis earthed orfconnected to 'a1' metallic ilining: of 5 the; Walls of the cabinet.l

A suitable: modification ofy the; device is characteriz'edn. that the cabinetcont'ains an. appa- 10"" ratus-for the admissionlof fresh, purified air, yby' meansi ofi which* all the airf contained in" thel cabinetiis: replaced i by fresh: airk afterl the. treatment ofi a patient and before the next.A patient enters. the' cabineti. The: air' purier may vbe 15%A preferably arrangediso thattthexair. sucked-into theffsame'. comes fom'thei. inside of the cabinet, the fairl ini i the cabinet carrying. out za circulating,` movement irrbeingpurified; the pressure in the` cabinet'being. notinfluencedthereby. f 20 As tliezibody: ofv thev patient is brcughtdirectly into intimate contactrwith a--large. surface metal electroderlaid: oma source? of yhigh frequencyycurrent, the energyofzthei lsource of 'high' frequency. currentistiiot onlyeemployed. forthezchargingor' 25 arsonvali'sati'on;oftherbodyfbut.; atutli'e same; time fortheziionisation of the .air whichv surrounds .the body." Theilvoltagelmaybe selected'so thatfreally. aiperceivable ionisationizoccursthe more sofas in- 1thernost:frequent.l cases ofi adjusting v' climate 30.' atf'alhigh-Ilev'el, i.: .ear of llow pressure, in the cabinet the.' ionisation: is much easier` than at' normal-V pressure'. isftheirelectric` proceedings .which lead to ithe ionisation take vplaneten' `the surface ofthe human body, thezeffe'ctifof the ionisated air which 35i surroundsgtlie body becomes :particularlyy effective.

An especiallyl suitable. form of construction of thelv arrangement ist: characterized ithereby. that thenuetalplate ofthe`r chair or* the like coming intofcontacttwith the body 'oflthev patient vis mov- 40g able-and coupled `with:a1sWitcl'i contact which, wheny the "metal plate isi depressed, Aswitches in the: high frequency: generator or the lhigh frequency/circuit; Ifinv this or in 4a similar'manner theV metal piatefisaput'under Voltage only by the 45,1

Weight of .the body the patient, theinconveniences: are avoided Which otherwise might sourcefof currentisf/sufficientA fori the Whole 55g,

demand of high frequency, i. e. a small and cheap apparatus requiring little space which may even be accommodated under the chair.

Several embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an. elevation of the cabinet, the front wall of the same with the door being omitted, this view being so to say a vertical section on line I--I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a section on line II-II of Fig. 1, i. e. a top pian View with omission of the ceiling.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation seen from the ieft side of Fig. 1, the fresh air producer being omitted, i. e. the connection being shown in section on line III-III of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 3a shows in side elevation, partlyin section a dry air filter which may in some cases be substituted for a purifier as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 shows in side elevation a modified construction of the chair mounted in the cabinet.

Fig. 5` shows on enlarged scale a high frequency producer with automatic switch.

Fig. 6 shows a modified construction of the switch.

Thewalls of the cabinet a have a lining b of sheet aluminium, which is suitable for different reasons, especially owing to the good reflexion of the rays especially the ultra-violet kinds of rays. A tightly closing door -c adapted to be locke-d serves as entrance, Whereas an observation window d allows of supervising the treatment. A chair e having a movablel contact plate e is placed in the centre of the cabinet a. The contact plate e is coupled with a switch e4, which controls the connection e" of plate e with the high frequency producer e"'. This high frequency producer is connected to the network by means of a connecting lead e3. The switch e4 completes the high frequency circuit only if the weight of the body of the patient has depressed the plate c. 'I'he surface of the plate coming into contact with the body is large enough to ensure electric charging of the body with little expense in electric energy and at the same time ionisation of the air which directly surrounds the body.

The suction conduit of an air pump or the like can be connected through a tube f fitte-d with a cock and leading into the cabinet. A quartz lamp g serves as source for the ultra-violet light, and a lamp h. is provided for infra-red rays. An apparatus i composed of several radially arranged lamps i possessing various properties may be further provided for the production of infra-red to ultra-violet rays.

The leads for the lamps are conducted airtightly at g', h and z" through the wall of the cabinet, same as the outside continuation of the inside lead e3 for the high frequency transformer e" accommodated4 under the chair e, said lead passing at e2 through the wall of the cabinet. The outer ends of the leads terminate in plug contacts to be inserted into corresponding plug sockets'lll of the network. These plug connections are used instead of separate switch elements for the connected instruments. A conduit k for fresh air terminating in the cabinet has a branch Z connectedwith the manometer m. A cock 11. permits of regulating the air admission. A liquid atomizer and air purifier o is mounted in the conduit k. If vacuum is produced in the cabinet a by means of the suction conduit f, fresh air in a quantity adapted to be regulated flows through ythe conduit Ic and the device o, the air being purified and if desired humidified. In the atomizer o, liquid extracts and medicaments may be atomized instead of or besides of water. For certain purposes a dry air filter o may be used instead of` an atomizer o and consists substantially of a small chamber filled, similar to a scrubber, with many small rings or 'the like for enlarging the air paths and the surfaces in the filter. This is shown in Fig. 3a.

Fig. 4 shows that not only the contact plate e of the chair is movable as in the form of construction Fig. 1, but the Whole chair e which rests on springs e5 so that it can descend under the action of the weight of the patient in guides e6.

A pin eFI of electricity conducting material fixed under the seat of lthe chair actuates a switch e4 of the high frequency producer e" which is xed on the floor. Only a resiliently movable and a stationary contact of switch e4`are shown.

In the form of construction illustrated in Fig. 5 the plate el, which may bear from below against the plate e shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 4 respectively, Or be fixed to the plate, is movable in vertical direction, a spring being inserted between the plate and the casing. A .pin e7 downwardly projecting from plate e is adapted to act upon the contacts e4 of which only the lower stationary contact is connectedwith a secondary coil of the high frequency producer. Of this producer only the two coils are shown for clearness sake. The second pole of this secondary coil is earthed by a lead e8 or connected with the wall of the cabinet so that plate e is unipolarly laid on the secondary coil as soon as the switch contacts are closed. A contact spring e9 is intended to maintain the connection from the secondary coil to the plate e.

In Fig. 6 the switch e4 is in the primary circuit of the high frequency producer e". 'Ihe pin e" is insulated at the portion which touches the switch contacts.

Instruments arranged in the interior of the cabinet opposite the observation window d and designed for supervision of the different treatment factors by the doctor are not shown in the drawings.

If, in some cases, it is desired to produce an increase in pressure instead of a reduction of air pressure corresponding to the climate on high levels inside the cabinet, air under pressure is forced through the tube f. In this case a branch of the conduit for air under pressure terminates in the liquid atomizer o, whereas the filter for purifying the air is preferably mounted in the pipe for air under pressure.

The tube f or a second similar tube j may also be used for introducing pure oxygen into the cabinet.

After the naked patient has entered the cabinet and the door thereof has been tightly closed, the suction device (pump or the like) connected to f is set in operation and the air pressure in the cabinet is reduced, that is to say, is brought to the desired pressure in accordance with the manometer. The reduction in air pressure is effected gradually so that the organism of the patient has time to adjust itself to this without injury. By reason of the reduction of the pressure (air dilution) occurring in the cabinet, slight quantities of fresh air are drawn in through the pipe lc, this air being purified by passing-through the liquid atomizer o which may be replaced by a simple lter. The reduction in pressure in the cabinet produces a fine dispersion and atomizing of the liquid in o with which the fresh air drawn in is enriched. The quantities of fresh air which are drawn in are controlled by means of the cock n, or the like.

As soon as the patient sits on the chair e the high frequency device is switched on, that is to say, the body of the patient is charged with high frequency current and feeble ionisation of the air takes place. The ray treatment is then effected by switching on the lamps g', h and i. It will be understood that in the liquid'atomizer o it is not only possible to disperse and atomize water, but also liquid extracts and medicaments and supply these to the interior of the cabinet. The instruments for observing the conditions inside the cabinet, in addition to the manometer, are not illustrated. They are provided in the cabinet directly behind the observation window d and can be observed through the latter.

The setting in operation, switching on and controlling of the various devices, is preferably effected from the outside which enables the attendant doctor to influence the conditions within the cabinet and to vary these as required.

If instead of the conditions of the climate at a high level it is desired to produce those of a climate at a low'level, for example a sea climate, fresh .air is passed through the air purier and liquid atomizer o, and provision made for the outflow of the consumed air. The liquid to be dispersed in this case is sea water or a dilute or medicament solution corresponding therewith.

In the event of a rather low or, generally speaking, a certain temperature having to be maintained or produced inside the cabinet, this may be done by way of a cooling plant combined With it in a manner as indicated in the drawings by Way of example. A cooling coil p which may conveniently be the evaporator of the refrigerator or cooling machine is installed inside'the cabinet a. and connected by pipesv s with a refrigerator or cooling machine t of any known type arranged outside the cabinet. Associated with the cooling coil p within the cabinet are a deecting screen q and anelectric fan r for ensuring a cir. culation of air. By controlling the operation of this installation the temperature inside the cabinet is at the same time controlled. The cooler may also be wholly arranged in the cabinet.

If needs be a device of some capacity for air conditioning, i. e. for washing and refreshing the air may be combined with the cabinet, as is also shown in the drawings. Such device comprises a column u, partially filled with elements w presenting a large superficial area to water or other liquid sprayed by nozzles x and a. fan y that blows fresh air from outside through the column u and a filter e into a. tube u and into the cabinet a. Within tube u a valve u" is inserted for sealing the cabinet at this point prior to alteringv the normal pressure of air in its interior.

Also the air purifying plant 'Lt-2 may be mounted as a. whole in the cabinet a.` if this should be desirable for special conditions .and if the air puriiier is not destined for the admission of fresh I claim:

1. A method for subjecting a human body to treatment by a. desired condition of climatic air and electric conditions substantially equivalent to natural conditions, such as in high mountains, dry sunny districts, or at the seashore, etc., which consists in producing an atmosphere of any one of said desired air conditions in an air-tight chamber by conditioning the air therein from Without said chamber, subjecting said conned conditioned air in the chamber to ionization by electric discharge rays, and subjecting the human body Within said chamber to a high frequency current therethrough by automatically closing a circuit therefor by a retiring movement of said human body Within said chamber.

2. A therapeutic cabinet comprising an enclosed chamber having a metallic lining constructed to form a high frequency electrode, a seat mounted within Athe chamber .and having a Contact plate covering a substantial portion of the area thereof and constructed to form a high frequency electrode, switch means connected with said seat and having operative connections with said electrode thereof to close a high frequency electric circuit to said seat electrode and the lining when a patient is sitting on the said electrode.

ERNST HOMBERGER. 

